Chapter 206: Summoner

"How many chickens are being killed? Am I one of those chickens, or am I the monkey?"

Gu Lihuan's eyelid twitched. His heart filled with apprehension as he took out several Dafeng coins, slipped them into the eunuch's hand, and bravely walked towards the palace. He hadn't gone far when he encountered another eunuch delivering an imperial decree, also on his way to the Imperial College. The eunuch greeted him directly, "Congratulations, Master Gu!"

Gu Lihuan replied distractedly, "Eunuch, what's there to be happy about?"

"Master Gu, you may not know, but the Academician of your Imperial College has rendered meritorious service in quelling the rebellion. His Majesty has ordered this old servant to go and bestow rewards, promoting him."

Gu Lihuan was startled and exclaimed, "Another promotion? A eunuch just passed by who was also going to promote him! How can he get promoted twice in a row?"

The eunuch delivering the decree said, "His Majesty said that the first time was because others failed to do their duty, while the Academician did his duty well, so he was to be promoted to Principal Rank Six. And this time, it's because the Academician rendered meritorious service in quelling the rebellion, achieving remarkable feats in the Southern Border, so he's to be promoted again, to Subordinate Rank Five."

Gu Lihuan took out a few Dafeng coins and quietly slipped them into his hand, stammering, "So he rendered meritorious service. The Academician is a scholar from my Imperial College; his meritorious service and reward also bring honor to me..."

"Indeed!" The eunuch delivering the decree smiled pleasantly and hurried away.

Gu Lihuan, still distracted, continued walking towards the palace. He then encountered another eunuch delivering a decree, walking towards him. The eunuch's face lit up with joy upon seeing him, and he smiled, "Congratulations, Master Gu! My heartfelt congratulations!"

Gu Lihuan said with a dark expression, "Eunuch, what's there to be happy about?"

"His Majesty has ordered this old servant to convey an imperial decree to promote the Imperial College's Academician again!"

The old eunuch smiled, "Academician Qin Mu cured the Imperial Preceptor's injuries, and is promoted to Principal Rank Five, Senior Grandee of Loose Duty, with treatment equivalent to that of the Director of the Imperial College! Three promotions in a single day! This is truly a great joy for your Imperial College!"

Gu Lihuan nodded blankly. He took out a few Dafeng coins and, without anyone noticing, slipped them into the old eunuch's hand, saying with a forced smile, "I also share in his glory..."

After the eunuch walked away, Gu Lihuan's face darkened. His rise meant his own decline. If Qin Mu got promoted again, he would be at the same rank as himself!

He received three promotions in a row, and Gu Lihuan himself still had to spend a lot of money!

"If he gets promoted again, I'll have to address him as 'Your Excellency'."

Gu Lihuan composed himself and went to see the Emperor, presenting the list of fallen scholars. Emperor Yanfeng was reviewing memorials; he looked up, took the list, read it once, and said heartbrokenly, "These scholars are all pillars of my talent, the future mainstays of the nation. Just because information was leaked, they were harmed by the rebels! I feel like killing someone!"

Cold sweat broke out on Gu Lihuan's forehead. He dared not speak, wondering if the Emperor would want to kill him if he spoke up.

Emperor Yanfeng stood up and paced back and forth. He suddenly slammed the table and said with deep anguish, "I only issued the decree about the scholars' training location before I departed; why did they encounter an ambush? Gu Lihuan, my dear minister Gu! Tell me, who leaked the information?"

Gu Lihuan pondered, then said, "Judging from the battle situation in Lizhou, the Deputy Prefect of Lizhou had already captured Lu County. When the Imperial College and the scholars arrived in Lizhou, the rebels coincidentally cast the Soul-Guiding spell. This indicates that the rebel faction knew the exact time of the scholars' arrival in Lizhou, almost as if they had foresight. They must have received news of the scholars' training before Lu County was captured, which allowed them to still possess the power to summon demons and retrieve souls even after Lu County was breached. This suggests that the leak didn't come from the Imperial College or the scholars, but rather..."

He forced himself to say, "It was me, or those few Rank One high-ranking officials, who leaked the information."

"The traitors are among us!"

Emperor Yanfeng sneered, "It seems someone among us wants to usurp my position. On that day, those who attended the discussion and knew about this, besides you and me, were all Rank One high officials: several tutors of the Crown Prince, and the Minister of Education, the Minister of Works, and the Grand Duke. Who do you think it could be among them?"

Beads of sweat trickled down Gu Lihuan's forehead. He gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Emperor Yanfeng glanced at him and snorted coldly, "You dare not speak? You are disloyal to me."

Cold sweat streamed down Gu Lihuan's forehead. "Your humble servant was frozen in the Great Ruins for two hundred years. I do not know much about the court officials, so I dare not speak carelessly..."

"Speak carelessly then; I will pardon you."

"Your humble servant is naturally dull-witted and very foolish. He even had his imperial sword tricked away by the Academician. This shows your humble servant's foolishness..."

Emperor Yanfeng was so angry he laughed, pointing at his nose, "Stop playing games with me! If the Academician tricked you out of your sword, just lower your head, admit your mistake to him, and ask for it back. If you're truly foolish, what use do I have for you, the Grand Libationer? Pack your bags and get out at once! Speak, who do you suspect?"

Gu Lihuan gritted his teeth, then suddenly looked up and said, "The Crown Prince's tutors are highly suspect!"

"What did you say?"

Emperor Yanfeng was furious beyond measure, and his imperial might erupted, pressing Gu Lihuan until he had to lower his head.

Suddenly, Emperor Yanfeng seemed to slump, and waved his hand. "My dear minister Gu, you are very clever, very clever... You may leave."

Gu Lihuan, drenched in cold sweat, slowly retreated.

"Come back," Emperor Yanfeng said.

Gu Lihuan's hair stood on end; he steeled himself and walked back. Emperor Yanfeng slowly said, "The Imperial Preceptor performed a great service this time, and I have not yet rewarded him. What do you think I should reward him with?"

Gu Lihuan lowered his head and said, "What can Your Majesty bestow upon him?"

Emperor Yanfeng shook his head. "Nothing left."

Gu Lihuan thought for a moment, then said, "Then bestow upon the Imperial Preceptor beautiful women and riches."

"You think just as I do."

Emperor Yanfeng sighed, "It's just that I fear he will refuse them as he has done before."

Gu Lihuan hesitated and said, "Many things have happened this time. If the Imperial Preceptor is truly clever, he will surely accept this time."

Emperor Yanfeng was taken aback, then smiled. "You are quite the character. I am not killing chickens to set an example for you, nor are you a chicken. You may leave. Also, do not always provoke the Academician; you cannot afford to offend him. His capabilities are beyond your imagination. Every time you allow yourself to be put in an awkward position by him, I feel quite ashamed for you. I appointed you to your important position against considerable opposition, and I don't want to always clean up your messes."

Gu Lihuan felt deeply ashamed and withdrew. He thought to himself, "I can't afford to offend him? I can't afford to offend him? I am a dignified grand master of the demonic path, one of the few prominent figures in the demonic path. I can't afford to offend a greenhorn in the Five Luminaries Realm? Have I lived these few hundred years in vain...?"

Emperor Yanfeng resumed reviewing memorials. He suddenly put down his vermillion brush and fell into a daze. "I ascended to this position in middle age, even outliving several of my sons. It seems my Crown Prince won't have to wait as long as I did in the Crown Prince's position..."

In the Imperial College, Qin Mu received three imperial decrees. His official rank was also promoted to Principal Rank Five, Senior Grandee of Loose Duty. The Grandee of Loose Duty was merely a ceremonial position with no real power. It was a type of civil official, revered as a high minister of the state, yet ultimately just an unaffiliated individual.

Evidently, the Emperor still harbored doubts about him, the Heavenly Devil Cult Master. He would not grant him real power, to prevent the court and common people from being filled with villains from the demonic cult.

Qin Mu casually tossed the three imperial decrees into the west room. His heart remained unperturbed.

He was still cultivating the other four transformations of the Five Luminaries Realm.

During this southern campaign to quell the rebellion, the Imperial Preceptor Yan Kang had guided them extensively. Shen Wanyun, Si Yunxiang, and others had plunged into the Heavenly Records Pavilion upon their return from the Southern Border, searching for Five Luminaries Realm cultivation techniques.

Si Yunxiang had also borrowed the Academician's book permit from Qin Mu to access the third floor of the Heavenly Records Pavilion to consult cultivation techniques.

"The Imperial Preceptor Yan Kang's reforms promoted the idea that all worldly arts and practices should be for the daily use of the common people. Yan Kang Nation is essentially a much larger Heavenly Devil Cult."

Qin Mu absorbed the power of the Saturn Star. His body slowly began to change. His two legs gradually merged into one, transforming into a serpent's tail, creating a human-headed, serpent-bodied form, two to three zhang tall. And behind him, two tightly closed doors appeared.

During his trip to the Southern Border, he had already mastered the divine transformations of the Four Star Lords from the Five Luminaries Divine Treasure: Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus. But only the form of Saturn was difficult to master. No matter how abundant his vital qi, he always struggled to form the most perfect Saturn Lord shape.

This time, he activated the Tyrant Body Three Elixirs Art. The tightly closed doors behind him gradually became clearer, but the inscriptions on the doors were still somewhat blurry and indistinguishable.

The Saturn Lord was extremely unique among the Five Luminaries Star Lords. The True Art of Saturn Earth Marquis, the foremost of the Five Luminaries, was unexpectedly difficult to cultivate, especially the gateway behind the Saturn Lord form.

Qin Mu could transform into the Saturn Lord's form, but the gateway always remained difficult to materialize into a clear, visible state. The inscriptions on the gateway remained blurry.

In the air, a stream of earthy yellow light continuously surged, pouring into his body. The power of the Saturn Star flowed in, making his divinized body increasingly stable. Gradually, Qin Mu discovered another change in the Saturn Lord form: a phantom scroll appeared in his hands.

He looked at the phantom scroll. The words on the scroll were still illegible. However, from the strange patterns of the characters, it seemed that the writing on the scroll was tadpole script. The characters resembled suns, moons, insects, and fish, completely different from contemporary script.

Qin Mu had studied with the learned Elder Deaf for nearly ten years. Elder Deaf also had profound accomplishments in ancient scripts, but he had never taught him this particular form of tadpole script.

Qin Mu turned his head to look at the characters on the phantom gateway behind him. Although still blurry, he could vaguely make out a resemblance to the characters on the scroll.

"What kind of script is this?"

Qin Mu felt a subtle strangeness. If every martial artist in the Five Luminaries Realm had such a double-doored gateway behind them, and if the divinized Saturn Lord had such a scroll in their hands, then surely someone would have long ago thoroughly researched the characters on the scroll and the gateway, deciphering their profound mysteries. Why had even the Imperial Preceptor never mentioned this?

Could it be that others' Saturn Lord divinized forms do not have this gateway or this scroll?

As he was thinking, a deep, demonic voice suddenly sounded in his mind: "Stop overthinking it; this is Youdu script. How could a frail and insignificant creature like you possibly recognize Youdu script?"

Qin Mu was horrified, his hair standing on end. He asked in alarm, "Who? Who's speaking in my body?"

"Are you pretending?"

The voice laughed, "How long will you keep pretending in front of me? Didn't you recognize me when I borrowed your eyes to observe Imperial Preceptor Yan Kang's combat techniques? The demon summoner of the Lord of Dusky Capital?"